Sunday, December 12, 2010

The Mona Lisa . . . painted by numbers???

The Daily Mail reports that hidden letters and numbers have been found in Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, the Mona Lisa.

Intrigue is usually focused on her enigmatic smile.



. . .







There's more at the link, including photographs of the alleged discovery.

Whether those are letters and numbers, or simply scratches left over the centuries that the painting's been on display, is a matter of opinion, I guess. Certainly I don't place any credence in the 'da Vinci Code theory' that's been exploited by so many people for entertainment and profit. However, there's no official word as yet on whether the discovery represents evidence that Leonardo created the Mona Lisa as a paint-by-numbers exercise . . .